Applied Simulation for Conservation of Semiarid Agroecosystems

Keywords

Abstract

The natural resources of soil and vegetation show severe
degradation in the semiarid landscape of the Vedado area
located near Zaragoza in central Ebro valley (NE Spain).
The residual forest has undergone strong anthropogenic
pressure including deforestation, overgrazing and
extensive agriculture. These practices have increased
seriously the risk of soil loss over the last decades.
Nevertheless, the agrarian policy of the European Union
encourages abandonment of the low productivity lands,
and establishes the regulations for good agricultural
practices.
The MicroLEIS expert evaluation system linked to Idrisi
GIS is applied to this area of 3700 ha, in an attempt to
generate a map of erosion risk and to design suitable land
uses. Map of slope gradients has been derived from a
digital elevation model. The field survey data allowed to
classify the soil types and to establish the land capability
classes. Land evaluation indicates that the main limiting
factors apart from climate are soil fragility, slope and soil
erosion. In order to recover the natural vegetation and
minimize the risk of desertification as well as to establish
a strategy for suitable resource management, the areas
surrounding the forest should be preserved and the more
fragile areas should be left as set-aside lands.